FAIR Health Launches Monthly, Interactive Tool Tracking Telehealth across Regions

Tracker Will Follow Telehealth as the Venue of Care Evolves Due to COVID-19

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May 07, 2020, 06:33 ET

NEW YORK, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today FAIR Health launched the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, a new, interactive feature on its website fairhealth.org. Drawing on FAIR Health's database of over 31 billion private healthcare claim records—the largest such repository in the nation—the tracker will offer insights into the month-by-month evolution of telehealth in every region of the country, especially now as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses.

FAIR Health Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

As a venue of care that permits healthcare services to be delivered without in-person contact, telehealth is expected to expand dramatically as people take precautions against COVID-19. A national, independent nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information, FAIR Health is in a unique position to open a window into telehealth. Already, FAIR Health has published a white paper on telehealth, studied telehealth in its series of FH^® Healthcare Indicators and FH^® Medical Price Index white papers, and, in a brief on COVID-19, analyzed telehealth in the context of the pandemic.

The Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving on a monthly basis. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in each region, or in the nation as a whole. Each infographic includes a 2019 vs. 2020 comparison for that month of telehealth's:

Volume of claim lines;
Urban vs. rural usage;
Top five procedure codes; and
Top five diagnoses.

One month can be compared to another month, and regional statistics for each month can be compared to national statistics for that month. The first two months of data, from January and February 2020, are already on the site. Each month another month of data will be added. Over time, FAIR Health expects that new developments in telehealth's evolution will become evident.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "As part of FAIR Health's mission, we are seeking ways to make our data useful to the public during this time of change. We are privileged to be able to monitor telehealth month by month as this venue of care is transformed, particularly now in response to COVID-19."

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.

About FAIR Health
FAIR Health, a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 31 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products—including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health houses data on Medicare Advantage enrollees in its private claims data repository. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It and Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:
Dean Sicoli
Chief Communications Officer
FAIR Health
646-664-1645
[email protected]

SOURCE FAIR Health